Random thoughts from a grace saved sinner, small church pastor, and home-school dad.

For it is by grace you have been saved...

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

The Battle Rages On, Even Though Victory Has Been Achieved

Having just celebrated the Resurrection this past Sunday, rejoicing in Christ's victory over sin, death and Satan, we might be tempted to be a little overly triumphant. Not that we shouldn't rejoice in His triumph. Not that we shouldn't rejoice in our victory in Him. But we need to not lose sight of the reality that though the victory is won, the battle rages on.

I've been preaching through Ephesians for the last year or so, and we've arrived near the end and Paul's discussion of the Christian's armor. The first question that should come up in light of this past weekend is this: If Christ is victorious, why do we need armor? And the answer is plain: because the battle rages on.

It's somewhat confusing, at least for me. How do I reconcile the message of the resurrection, the victory of Christ, with Scripture's repeated urging to "fight the good fight", "put on the whole armor of God", etc.? The war is over but the battles continue? Seems a bit odd, doesn't it? But this is the reality we live in.

Jesus has won the victory. Satan is defeated. And yet, his final defeat will not be "realized" until the end when Christ returns to establish his kingdom. In the meantime, you and I live in this land of "already, but not yet." We are already partakers with Him in life and victory. But we have not yet experienced the fullness of that. He has already won, but the enemy has not yet surrendered. And so the battle rages on.

I don't want to go into too much detail. At least one or two of our church folk read this blog and I don't want to give away the next few weeks' sermons. But in short, we need to find this balance between confidence in our victory, and vigilance in our ongoing spiritual battles. We need to beware becoming to overconfident because of the Resurrection that we overlook the enemy's ongoing war against us. Just because he's lost, doesn't mean he's given up.

Again, Scripture gives us warning after warning about this battle, and speaks often with a military motif. Be on your guard. Keep watch. Stand firm. Be of good courage. Fight that good fight. Don't ever lose sight of the reality that there is a real enemy out there, a real foe with "schemes" and "flaming darts" and everything.

Yet at the same time, remember who we are, and Whose we are. We fight day in and day out, but the battle is the Lord's. And He will win, has won. Battle on, but do so in confidence. With that in mind, here is this wonderful old hymn on spiritual warfare by Isaac Watts from 1709. It reminds us both of the ongoing battle and the absolute confidence we have because of Christ's victory.